The Blood of Olympus
by MN2PJ
Summary: The seven are on their way to Greece to defeat their sworn enemy Gaea. Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge are entrusted with the duty of bringing peace to the camps before they destroy each other. The prophecy lingers on. Can they overcome all difficulties and achieve victory or will they die fighting? An enthralling fanfiction of the fifth installment of The Heroes Of Olympus.
1. Chapter 1

THE BLOOD OF OLYMPUS

Chapter I: Percy

The seven demigods are now officially on their trip to the Ancient Lands. Percy should be nervous, scared or even happy that they are closer than ever to defeating Dirt Face' as Leo puts it. But all he feels is dread. Dread to the final battle. Dread to see camp. Dread to his own future.

He is standing on deck as he can't sleep. They are near the end of the Ionian Sea. Getting so far isn't easy. Though he is getting better from his nightmares because of Annabeth, his dreams still haunt him of Tartarus when the night came. He can see Annabeth is going through tough times herself but whenever they are together, things seemed so much better. They had been through Tartarus alone, along with Bob.

Bob...

The best titan in the entire world, the bravest of them all. Just the thought makes Percy's insides prick with guilt. Bob had sacrificed his life for Percy and Annabeth to get to the Doors of Death. Bob had helped them through every single problem they faced. Without Bob both of them would have never made it out alive.

Annabeth believes Bob is alive but Percy has some trouble following her example. Bob would have fought a million monsters to survive. Even with the help of Damasen, Bob couldn't have made it. However hard he hoped, the reality just made itself clearer.

Annabeth appears behind him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You're okay, right?"

If only she knew. 'Yeah," He replies not entirely truthful.

"Jason's arranging a meeting and he wants you to be there."

He nods. "I'll be right there. You go on ahead."

She looks at him with her stormy grey eyes into his cool green ones. For a minute, it looks as if she is going to cry, but she doesn't. Instead she inhales deeply. "Okay."

Percy turns back to the sea once Annabeth walks away and presses his palms on the railing. Somehow the cool ocean breeze and the sound of the tiny waves lapping below make things feel a little less chaotic.

Percy walks to the dining hall alone. Everyone has already arrived. Jason is sitting at the head of the table but gives his seat up to Annabeth. Hazel and Piper slouch, no doubt exhausted with all the sword fighting lessons. Leo and Frank are arguing between each other but cut it out when Percy enters.

The hall seems a bit empty and Percy feels a sudden longing to go back home and have blue waffles with his mother and Paul. The last time he saw her feels like it was so long ago. It's so quiet without Coach Hedge.

The smile slips from his mouth as he remembers the Athena Parthenos, Nico and Reyna. Hopefully they were safely travelling across the Atlantic but Percy doubts they would get a nice ride back to camp. And he hopes Octavian had not destroyed Camp Half Blood yet. His home. Percy couldn't wait till he got the chance to strangle the scarecrow.

Percy takes a seat next to Annabeth. Everyone stares nervously at the both of them. They had promised to tell the others what happened in Tartarus. Percy didn't feel like it but it had to be sooner or later. As for Percy, he had learned to choose sooner. The others hadn't pushed them so far but he could tell they wanted to know.

Jason takes the lead. "So, I suppose we all know we have exactly two weeks or fourteen days to defeat Gaea before she rises and…" The rest of the sentence dissolves in silence. They all knew what was at stake.

Percy could hear Tartarus laughing **"You might as well try to kill the Earth**." Tartarus had said.

"Well the Argo II needs repairing. " Leo finally says. "I would need a couple of floorboards and tape and I need to fix a couple of gears. Thankfully Festus is intact and working or we would be whoosh." He makes the movement of something falling and breaking apart on his palm. "Except Jason."

"I'll go." Piper volunteers. "Anyone else?"

"Count me in," Percy sighs. Perhaps this little shopping trip would take his mind of the disturbing images of the giants, Tartarus and the river Phlegathon. If he started seeing all these when he was awake, he was definitely going crazy. But then again, that was a natural thing to say for a demigod. Regular mortals probably think us demigods are insane, but they couldn't see the world like the demigods. The powerful cloak of Mist blocks their sight of monsters.

"I'll go too," Annabeth says, raising her hand slightly. "My mind needs to take a break off things."

Piper nods. "Let's get going," she gets up from the table. As usual, everyone looks up, and Piper scowls slightly. Surprisingly, for a child of Aphrodite, she hates too much attention. But, you couldn't really help it sometimes. She takes Katoptris, her knife, and puts it into its sheath in her belt. It was a looking glass, and sometimes it was a big help in times of battle. Annabeth gets up and follows her, her sword already strapped to her side. Damasen had gifted it to her, and she wore it everywhere, prepared for any untimed battle. She looked pretty intimidating sometimes.

Percy is the only one left to leave. Leo, Frank, Jason and Hazel are all staring at him. They had been acting weird around him lately, as if expecting Percy to suddenly come up with a masterstroke and defeat Gaea, and it irritates Percy once in a while. He may have been praetor of the Twelfth legion, but that didn't make him some kind of supreme lord. And Jason always took the lead. What happened now?

"Leo," Percy breaks the silence. "What was it you needed?"

Leo looks up. "Huh? Oh, a roll of tape and some new floorboards," he says, circling his spaghetti with a fork. Percy nods. "We'll leave tomorrow." He turns and strolls out of the hall room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II: Annabeth

It took a long time to enter the Mediterranean. The waves were strong and the Argo II experienced several storms. Of course Percy and Leo worked together to hold the ship together. Water and mechanics. The world just gets weirder and weirder.

Annabeth has just got up from bed. They all take turns to sleep during the day. The meetings were the only time they all saw each other. It was Annabeth's turn to guard along with Frank. Percy is sleeping. As much as she wants him to get his rest, she wants to be alone with him. They didn't get much time to talk except at night to comfort each other from their nightmares.

She rubs her eyes and took a seat on deck. Leo is at the helm. He never left it. He is currently sleeping on the control board. Annabeth could only hope that the ship wouldn't blow up.

"Annabeth!" It is Frank. She is guarding starboard side and he was guarding the other. She turns around to see him holding off a couple of telekhines. A few more come on her side. Totally she estimated there would thirteen or fourteen. Two of them wouldn't be able to defeat all of them.

"Bait them Frank! Distract them and I'll call the others" she calls out.

He nods and disappears out of view. Where Frank is standing a moment ago, a lion now stands. Frank has the power to change into any animal he wanted. Annabeth rushes downstairs to find a telekhine blocking her path. It charges at her and she rolls to her right. She pulls out her drakon bone sword and cuts a deadly arc through it. It disintegrates almost immediately.

She rings the warning bell and rushed into each room screaming, "Telekines!" In five minutes they all assemble on deck. Percy and her take on the first two. Percy drives his sword right through one of them. Jason and Hazel are parrying forward and backward with a telekhine. Frank is roaring, scaring off them. Leo iswide awake and is fumbling with a few switches. Piper is under the weight of two telekhines pinning her to the ground. Annabeth runs towards her, ducking a telekhine and sliding beneath its feet.

She battles with one of them for a while until it knocks her new sword and sends it flying into the ocean's depth. Annabeth whirls around to avoid the telekhine's blow by inches. It tackles her to the ground, and turns into dust. Hazel towers above her, spatha in hand.

"Thanks," Annabeth says. Hazel nods and they both merge back into the battle scene. Things look a little better now. There are only two telekhines left with seven demigods circling them. The first, rather foolish, charges straight at Annabeth who has no blade. However, Percy is right next to her and he deflects the attack. He lifts his sword and brings it down on the telekhine.

The second one has a little more sense. It runs right through the circle and pitches itself overboard. It nearly makes Annabeth smile.

The rest of them return to their cabins as fast as they can as they need to gather all the rest that they could. Hazel uses her new Mist powers to retrieve Annabeth's sword. How, Annabeth doesn't know. Annabeth wakes at midnight panting from yet another Tartarus memory. When she can't sleep anymore, she walks out on deck to take in some fresh air and clear her head.

"Are you thinking of what I am?" comes a very familiar voice. Percy.

If he can't sleep either, she is not surprised.

"When do I not?" she replies with amusement filling her voice.

"Are those memories haunting you as well then, Annabeth?" Percy says seriously.

It is then that she turns only to find herself absorbed in those beautiful sea-green eyes, feeling safe as if these events never disturb either him or her.

"Not with you here right next to me." she whispers and kisses him, letting the amazing feeling diminish all the thoughts of evil bothering her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III: Reyna

Nico is completely dead weight after he shadow travelled them to the famous city - Magna Graceia - Italy. Sure, he is tired, but collapsing in the middle off the street leaving Reyna to protect a forty feet statue with the psycho Coach Hedge who is muttering something about his child under his breath - Wait, what?

Anyways, he is being completely oblivious to what is happening around him as well so it is up to Reyna to lead them to shelter for the night. Since she is a Roman, she knows Rome well enough to know where to get shelter.

When they reach the inn, they all collapse on their respective beds and suspiciously well for the night but not so much as to avoid the dreams. That night she dreams of Jason wearing Greek clothes proudly standing beside Percy as a leader of the Greek Camp. She desperately hopes it isn't true but she knows better. Jason seemed to treat Camp Half Blood like home. But Jason was a born Roman. How could he just leave?

She doesn't know why but the image troubles her a lot. However, she can't let it bother her so, off they are again all rested and anxious for what is going to happen that day.

The Athena Parthenos is like a monster magnet. That as well as the her training for years tell her instincts that the two ladies walking towards them on Fashion Avenue are not humans. Her wise and observant eyes notice the ladies' unhuman stares and the unusual wobble in their way of walking with heels also tell her that they are not hiding normal feet in those stiletto heels.

It seems as if Coach and Nico are aware of them as well. Nico and Reyna are holding the Parthenos but their other hands reach for their weapons.

"It issss not you three we wantt...It is the ssstatue that will give Mother Gaia the powerrrr…" one of the ladies turned empousa hisses.

Reyna musters up all the hatred she can and spits, "You will have nothing till you manage to defeat us, unworthy creatures of the Underworld!"

After that it is chaos, Nico and Coach Hedge slashing and hacking but they wouldnt die and the growing suspicion in her stomach tells her then that she would have to defeat them as she was the one to carry the statue to safety in Camp Half-Blood and bestow peace between the camps. She makes a split-second decision and shouts at Nico to protect the statue and slices both their heads in one movement of her sword. She watches as their heads topple to the ground and turns back to see unbelieving looks on her companions' faces.

She ignores the looks and says, " I will explain later. They will not be our first, we had better get moving. The statue is much needed by Gaea, I suspect."

"Duh," Nico replies. "She wants to start war between the camps. Bloodshed."

"How many more days will it take?"

"Two, three at the most. The biggest problem will be preventing the war."

"You mean Octavian?" she asks disgustedly, "I should never have left him in charge. He has probably already attacked."

"Camp Half-Blood is strong. They'll defend and hold off the forces until we come, "Nico defends his camp.

"You have never seen the legion at war," Reyna shoots back.

That creates a minute of silence and all they hears is Coach Hedge singing 'Three Green Bottles'. Nico rolls his eyes. "Reyna, I was wondering about the statue. It has a couple of gears and buttons. I'm no Leo but I think if I can figure it out, it will help us on our way."

"Help us?"

"Yeah, like shoot lasers or give us a protective cover. Special items always have special powers in Mythomagic.

She shoots him a confused look. "So it'll help me when I'm the only one trying to defend the statue and you're asleep."

"Oh gods, I cannot believe you are arguing about this with me. Sorry, but shadow travelling exhausts me."

"Fine. Never mind. Will you be able to uncover this little secret of the statue?"

"I'll try Reyna," They approaches their next spot, The Leaning Tower of Pisa. Reyna wonders how the Mist covered the statue. Maybe as a really large dog or attach themselves to the ropes and she holds Nico's hand.

"Here goes nothing." And Reyna is consumed by a swirling pit of darkness


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV: Piper

Piper is exhausted. The fight with the telkhines was a pretty hard the Argo II was making good progress, Piper somehow feels they weren't going to succeed.

They are in the middle of the Mediterranean, on their way to Crete. According to Percy, whose expertise was sea, they are only 3 kilometers away from landing on the Island of Crete. Hopefully, they wouldn't have too much trouble trying to get in, as that is what usually happens.

"Come on, guys, not that far now!"Jason calls. Hazel and Frank are staring out at the sea, their hands intertwined. Annabeth's head lay on Percy's shoulder, talking to him quietly. The thought makes Piper feel extremely lonely. Of course, she has Jason, but she feels he has become very distant, as if his only priority is the battle. He is the only one in their crew that is focused entirely on the mission. The rest of them are more relaxed and calm. Perhaps it is the weight of being leader, but he isn't the only leader. The crew mainly depends on Annabeth, because she is obviously the smartest. But she wasn't as uptight as Jason.

A sudden thud slaps Piper out of her thoughts. Percy jumps up, immediately alert. Hazel's hand moves to her spatha as another thud erupts below. "Leo! Stop the ship, it's stuck on something!" Hazel says. Leo grabs his wii console remote and presses a button, bringing the ship to a sudden halt. Jason jogs to the railing and looks down. "There's something blocking the ship. I think it's a giant rock."

Piper looks down. They were about three yards away from was no other way out unless...

"Okay guys, we have to jump."

Everyone stares at Piper.

Leo is the first one to speak. "Uh, Piper? This is the Mediterranean. The most dangerous waters in Europe. You could possibly rephrase that as 'walking to your death'."

Piper rolls her eyes at him. "You think I don't know that? It's the only way, unless you want to sit around here and wait for the boulder to move magically."

Nobody argues.

"Okay then, you guys, stay here on the ship while Annabeth, Percy and I look for the materials. If there's something wrong, tell Frank to turn into a goldfish and send Percy a message," Piper instructs.

Frank's shoulders slump. "Why a goldfish?"

Piper sighs. "It doesn't matter, it just has to be a sea animal!"

"Let's go," Percy says, grabbing Annabeth's hand. Piper follows them, pulling Katoptris out of its sheath. "Okay, on the count of three, we jump," Percy says, taking Piper's hand in his left. "One."

Annabeth takes a deep breath. "Two."

"Thr-" Before Percy can complete, a large gust of wind pushes them forward .They all scream as they fall, and Percy tightens his grip on Piper and Annabeth's hands as they splash into the water. The water is pitch-black, and it certainly looked like the most dangerous waters in Europe. Piper couldn't see anything, but she could feel Percy trying to pull her upward. Piper coughed out bubbles, letting the dirty black water fill her mouth. It is simply revolting.

She can hear yells and screams from above the surface, probably Jason's and Hazel's. Percy is continuously trying to pull her, but there is some kind of gravity holding her towards the bottom, and it is very hard to get away. Where was Annabeth? She thinks. Percy doesn't seem to be holding on to someone.

Come to us, join us. Leave your dirty little meddling friends and join us. You won't be missed by them. You will have us! An unusual, male voice rasps. It definitely isn't Gaea. It sounds achingly similar, though. We will have power, we will earn our respect. We will destroy your precious home, destroy everyone you love. Join us, and you will be grateful. Piper yelps in pain when long ropes of seaweed weave around her legs, pulling her down.

Not seaweed.

They are green tentacles, with scaly skin, and Piper tries to scream, but nothing but bubbles emits from her mouth. She lets out a grunt of frustration. She takes Katoptris in her teeth and trusts herself not to cut her legs in half, as she struggles to cut the tentacles off her knee caps. Finally, she cuts it free, and Percy gives one last tug, and pulls her up. She gasps as her head reaches the surface, and Percy helps her to the land. Annabeth is sitting there, a towel around her. She gets up at the sight of Piper.

"Oh, thank the gods!" She exclaims as she hugs her. "We were so worried!"

Jason is there, so he must have flown down. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her forehead. "I'm glad you made it," he says, looking down at her. She smiles. Jason releases her and she hurries to Percy.

"Percy! Thank you," Piper says, hugging him tightly. His black hair is plastered to his forehead, covering the top of his eyes, but she can tell he's beaming. "I'd do it for anyone," he says. Piper releases him and looks at Annabeth apologizingly. She's smiling.

"Come on guys, we have a shopping trip to do."

They reach Ace Hardware by noon. All three of them are sweating like crazy. Piper wishes they could have flown a teeny bit closer. Annabeth and Percy are panting in rhythm. Piper tries not to stare.

Her mind is whirling around the green tentacles, the voice in her head. Who could it be? It isn't Gaea. It sounded old and male. She highly doubts even very sleepy god could sound like that.

Give up her friends...Piper feels sick. She remembers Enceladus and her father. But no one had a bait for her now. Except the fact that they could kill Jason.

"Piper?" Annabeth's inquires.

"I'm fine, just lost in thought," Piper replies.

Annabeth doesn't look like she buys it but nods her head "Percys' gone to get the tape. Any idea where floorboards are?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V : Jason

Something is wrong.

It is unusually quiet. It was almost never quiet on the Argo II. There was always some sort of chaos aboard the ship. Hazel is inhaling and exhaling, trying to relax. Frank is at her shoulder, comforting her.

Leo is slapping his ear and muttering something about girls and their high-pitched voices, due to Hazel's continuous screams during the 'Piper scene'. Besides all of that, it is still quiet.

"I'm going to eat some cake," Leo mumbles, walking into the hall room. Frank turns back to Hazel, rolling his eyes. Typical Leo.

"You okay, Jason?" Hazel breaks the silence between the three of them. Jason nods. "Just a little shaken up, I suppose."

Frank pats him on the back. "We're all shaken up, mate."

Jason gives him an awkward look. He blushes. "What? Never heard a Chinese guy in an Australian accent?"

Hazel laughs. "Never in my entire life."

Jason smiles slightly. "I'm hungry, aren't you?"

Frank nods. "Finally, someone gets me," he says. "I'm starving."

"So," Leo says, munching on his piece of cake. "What's the plan?"

"Plan for what, exactly?" Frank says, eating his pizza scrumptiously.

Leo puts his hands up in the air. "Oh, I don't know, maybe for what we're going to do after we leave Crete?"

"Oh," Jason says, drinking his pumpkin juice. "We'll discuss the whole thing when the entire crew is here, but right now, we have to focus getting through the Mediterranean."

"So after Percy and the others come back, we'll continue our way through the Mediterranean and into the Aegean Sea," Hazel sets her spatha on the table.

Jason nods. "That's basically it."

Hazel looks at her watch. "They should be here by now. I doubt it they've run into a monster." She looks around nervously.

Leo chokes on his glass of juice. "Doubt it? When has a monster ever been doubted?"

"Leo does have a point," Jason says. "They could be in trouble."

"We can't just jump off the ship," Frank stares at his apple pie. "We don't have Percy."

A pang of jealousy washes over Jason. Percy. He is probably the most important member of the crew. Without him, they would never survive in the sea. It is almost always when Percy saved the day. He saved Piper, not Jason. He was the one who survived in Tartarus, not Jason. He always volunteered for the most dangerous jobs.

Hazel sighs. "I just hope they're okay."

"Ah c'mon Hazel, relax. They'll be fine," Leo says putting his arms on the back of his head and starts eating his fifth piece of cake.

Hazel looks at him with narrowed eyes.

Frank frowns. But before he can say anything, the ship rumbles. And there follows a loud crash. Jason gets up and runs downstairs. The dining hall is a mess. The table is upside down, all the plates were broken. Sitting in the middle of a once used to be dining hall is a couple of mischevious looking creatures with pointed ears.

Leo, Hazel and Frank rush into the hall. Leo's glare is murderous. "Jason, that was my food they destroyed. I am going to kill them!"

"Shut up Leo," Hazel yells. "Those are kobaloi."

Surprisingly Leo shuts up. Jason asks Hazel, "What are their strengths?"

"Cleverness, wit."

"Oh that is just perfect," Frank empathizes.

Hazel sighs. "Unfortunately, they are very unnoticable and naughty, so be careful."

Leo snorts. "Sounds like the Baloney Dwarves."

Frank frowns. "Bologna."

"That's not the point! They're attacking our ship!" Hazel exclaims.

"Okay, okay. Let's go kick some kobaloney butt."

Hazel races after the first one. It disappears and stands at the other end of the room. Hazel stares with her mouth open. "Was that disappearing skills or superhuman speed?"

She doesn't receive an answer. Jason is too busy chasing another one and Frank and Leo are tackling another. Or trying to anyways.

Jason is getting seriously tired of them. They are small but immensely fast. Jason is exhausted. The dwarf is on the other side of the room. Jason flings his sword like a boomerang. It flies and misses . It doesn't even return to Jason since it isn't programmed to work the that way. But Jason is concentrating the table next to him. As he expected, the dwarf appears right there. Jason cups him in his hands. "Ha! Got you!"

He calls out to Hazel who is darting from side to side, her hair flying in her face. "They only move from side to side." She nods and throws her spatha while watching the place next to her. As predicted, the dwarf shows up right there and Hazel lunges at it. The third one who is trying to avoid Frank and Leo is watching them intently, that he didn't notice Leo catch him from behind.

All of them climb up on deck with their newly captured prisoners. "If you tell us any information about Gaia, we'll let you go. Or..." Frank slices the air in front of his throat.

"Never!" The first one's voice is screechy and high."Gaia is coming. She will wreck you all. It would be better if you gave your selves up. We'd rather die than betray Her"

The other two are quiet until the third starts whimpering. "That's so cute! Can't we let them go? Leo says with eyes fixed on them.

"Don't be silly Leo," Hazel replies. "Kolaboi are dangerous. They pretend to act all cute and sad just to trick you. Just let one go and they'll run as far as they can. Besides didn't they ruin you food?"

That slaps Leo out of his gaze. "Can we toss them off the ship?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter VI: Nico

Nico never meant to land in Paris.

The weight of two demigods, a fully grown satyr, and gigantic forty-foot tall statue overwhelms him. He wanted to go on a little farther, but that was until his knees gave up on him and they fell to their deaths.

Nico lay on the ground, panting and shivering. Reyna is not too far away, on her knees, long black hair blowing in her face. Nico can't find Coach Hedge, and scanned the crowd for the satyr. He is nowhere in sight.

He stands up and walks to Reyna. He stretches his arm out, and she grasps it, and he pulls her off the ground. "Okay, let's find Coach Hedge and get out of here, before we run into any more trouble," Nico mutters to Reyna. She grabs his arm before he can step forward. "Where's the statue?"

Nico looks around statue! He had completely forgotten about it. "I-I think the Mist is powerful enough to keep it covered."

He squints into the white fog, and then spots the large, rather noticeable statue standing in the middle of the lawn. "Yup, It's there, the Mist is really powerful over here, enough to block our sight. So stay sharp and alert at all times."

"Say's the person who's supposedly always sharp and alert."

Nico rolls his eyes. "Forget it."

Reyna turns her back to him, a small smile dancing across her lips. "Come on."

They search through the crowd, and Nico tries to avoid the little chihuahua staring at him with little red eyes. It was annoying. Its eyes follow him everywhere. Reyna sighs. "And there he is, in the place you expect him to be."

Nico follows her gaze. Coach Hedge is sitting at the hot dog stand, munching on three sausages at once. Reyna storms toward him and yanks his arm and pulls him away.

"What were you thinking?" Reyna hisses.

Coach Hedge shrugs defensively. "What? I was hungry!"

"We have a specific job to do!"

"That can't stop me from eating, can it? It's a free country!"

Reyna rolls her eyes. "Just don't try to attract more attention, okay? I'm getting a feeling not all of these people are normal," her eyes fixed on the chihuahua glaring at them. There was definitely something wrong with it. Nico knew it. "Come on, let's get going," Reyna mumbles under her breath, grabbing Nico's arm and pulling his gaze away from the dog.

Before they could move a step, a loud growl erupts behind them. Coach Hedge stops chewing on his sausages. Reyna turns around slowly. Nico turns his head, and slowly revolves on the spot. The dog is staring at them, and another growl escapes it's mouth. Its tiny little body slowly transforms into some kind of monster. It's head is a lion, but as he looks down its body, he realizes that there is a second head,a goat head, protruding from the middle of it's back, and its tail ending as a snake. Nico's mythomagic cards come back to him, and instantly he knows what the creature was. Nico pulls out his black sword, and following him, Reyna does the same as well.

Reyna's eyes widen. "What is it? I've never seen one before."

Nico doesn't move his eyes from the monster. "That's the Chimera- Part goat, lion, and snake, child of Echidna," he whispers.

Reyna gasps under her breath. "Percy talked about it before-He fought it once and he nearly drowned in the Mississippi River."

Nico swallows. If Percy almost drowned fighting this, his chances were gone.

It growls once more, and crouched down low, unsheathing its unusually large claws.

"Okay, so how do we kill it?"

Nico shrugs nervously. "From what I've read we'll just take a shot at it, then we'd better run for our lives if we lose. Considering it doesn't kill us first..."

Reyna takes a deep breath. "Let's go for it.

He, Reyna and Coach Hedge all take a step forward and wait for the Chimera to react. Surprisingly, it doesn't move. It has a late reaction.

It snarls and pounces on Reyna, and she is just in time to bring her blade at its nose. It yowls in pain and staggers back. A few seconds later it steps forward, glaring at Nico. It opens it mouth wide and black poison erupts from it, aiming at Nico square in the chest.

Nico deflects it with his Stygian Iron sword, the poison splashing at the Chimera's face.

Coach runs at it with his club, screaming, "DIE, HOT-DOG EATING CUPCAKE!"

"Coach. No!"

The monster snarls and raises its paw, or hoof, or whatever you want to call it, and gets ready to strike the satyr with its claws. Reyna dashes forward and stands in front of Coach Hedge, and before the Chimera can do anything to stop it, Reyna's sword drives its way into its paw.

It howls in agony and takes a few giant steps back. It looks defeated, but just to be sure, Nico runs towards it and stabs it, in the chest.

The monster gives one last scream and dissolves into nothing. Everything goes black.

"Nico! Get up!" Reyna shoves his shoulder. Nico blinks his eyes open to see Reyna and Coach Hedge towering over him.

He gets up on his elbows. "What happened?" He looks around. They are at a hotel, and the Athena Parthenos is laid sideways on the ground. He is laying on a bed, and the light are all turned off, except for the night light.

Coach Hedge opens his mouth to try and explain, but Reyna silences him at once. "Not now. You need sleep, Nico. "

"We have to get out of here, though," Nico argues restlessly.

Reyna presses a finger to his lips, effectively shutting him up. "I said, you need sleep. You won't be able to shadow travel in this state," she leans down and kisses his forehead lightly. She gets up and walks into her room, closing the door behind her.

Coach Hedge has turned to the phone in the far corner, talking in barely audible whispers. "It's going to be okay, honey. I'm going to be there soon."

A soft, worrisome voice replies, but Nico can't make out the words.

"Yes, sweetheart. I promise," he puts the phone down, and walks to the other room.

Nico isn't able to make anything out of it. He lay his head down and closes his eyes with a stupid smile and a tingling memory on his forehead.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter VII: Percy

He was headed off to get tape. This has probably been the safest thing he has done on this quest..does it even qualify to be called a quest? Or not.

A big flying creature lands on his shoulders just as he puts his hands on the tape. It clutches at his shoulders. Percy bit his lip to keep him from yelping in pain. He whacks the creature with his duct tape. It squeals and holds on to him even harder. Percy shrugs it off his shoulder. It wasn't much of a fighter. A birdlike sickly creature with snakes for hair slips to the ground and stayed there. It bares its claws and...

"No way this is happening on my safest trip," he thinks as he swings the tape over and over until the monster is wrapped up in duct tape. Under other circumstances, it might have been funny.

"Who are you?" he says more frustrated than afraid.

Annabeth and Piper walk in at the same time from two different entrances wearing identical expressions.

"Gods of Olympus, Percy, what happened?" Annabeth nearly screams.

"I caught this...this thing on me while I was looking for the tape…" he replies. He walks over to the creature and pulls off the tape covering its mouth. "What do you know about Gaea's plans?" he asks.

Piper shouts suddenly, causing Percy to jump, "Cover your ears quick. This is Euryale! Its a gorgon whose scream can kill you!"

The effect is instant. Through closed ears, Percy hears a ear-piercing scream and lets go of the creature. It flies out of the window as quickly as it came in.

"Whew, that was close!" Piper and Annabeth say at the same time and then laugh.

"Well girls, I think we should get our supplies before Leo comes in with his Team Leo tactics to fire us as we didnt get Festus' supplies in time, huh?"

They look around the store for any traps but don't find anything. So they goet out as quickly as they could with the floorboards and tape to avoid any other monsters.

* * *

As soon as they step onto the deck, Percy knew something had happened. Jason runs to Piper and throws his arms around her petite figure.

"Oh..oh..thank the gods you're okay." Jason mumbles as he pulls her in for a tight embrace.

Annabeth and Percy try to politely give them space but Leo was obviously not on the same page. "Guys, get a ROOM!" Leo drawls and immediately gets six disapproving glares towards his direction.

"What?! I only meant that we have more important stuff to talk about!" he said "Don..don't we?" he splutters.

That seems to get everyone's attention.

"Right everyone, meeting on the dining table in fifteen. Go freshen up and be there in time. We sure do have a lot to discuss." Percy announces as everyone heads back to their rooms.

Everyone but Annabeth and himself.

"Hey..you okay?" Percy asks as Annabeth turns away to stare into the setting Sun.

"I don't know, Seaweed Brain." he smiles at the nickname, " I don't seem to know anything nowadays."

"Hey, come here, don't you think I know how hard it is, Wise Girl?"

"I know Percy, but sometimes I just space out and forget who I am and why I'm here. And it's scary not knowing who you are, you should probably know."

"I know but we'll get through with it. I know I'm not your best source of knowledge but I'll always be there for you, you know that right?"

That earns him a shove.

"Of course you are my best source of knowledge! And yeah...yeah, I know." Annabeth replies as they hug each other tightly trying to forget the past, live the present and stop being scared of 'not knowing' what was to come.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII: Hazel

Hazel hates being on this quest. She feels as if they had a battle nearly every minute. She is sleep deprived and hungry. The kobaloi were the last straw. She carried with her a book on mythological monsters. Just yesterday, she had finished the 'K' section that ended with kobaloi. She hated those witty creatures. And just like a nightmare they had popped up on their ship.

She has been practicing her Mist powers ever since she defeated Pasiphae. She even managed to stop summoning the cursed diamonds. Since that, she felt like she herself was a curse, cursed to doom the entire ship.

Percy had called a meeting. As Hazel sits on one of the side chairs, she looks at the boy at the head chair. Percy. Ever since he came back from Tartarus, he seemed so distant to anyone but Annabeth. She felt a sudden sadness and longing for the Percy she knew.

"Umm..according to Percy, we're currently entering the Aegean Sea." Leo says glancing at Percy who gives him a thumbs up.

"We're pretty close to Greece. I think we all know Gaia's will throw anything and everything in our way to stop us…" Percy says.

Annabeth adds on, "Plus we've only got got seven more days." The mood in the room goes still.

"When's this thing going to end?" Piper asks, her voice cracking. No one answers.

"C'mon guys, we've got to be strong." Jason motivates.

"He's right," Leo supports. "Gaia is going to be so sorry she ever even thought of messing with Leo Valdez and his buddies."

Hazel smiles. She appreciates the attempt. "We're nearly there. We defeated Alconyeus, Polybotes, Enceladus, Ephialtes and Otis. Who says we can't take on Gaea?"

Percy looks at her with gratitude. " Hey Jason, remember when we were insulting The Nutcracker to anger Otis?" All of them crack up laughing. Hazel feels like for the first time, the quest doesn't feel like a death sentence.

Hazel is awakened by a derisive cough. She lifts herself up and lets out a scream. An image shimmers infront of her. An Iris message. She remembers the time she had contacted Reyna. A centaur stands right in the centre of the image. He looks old and grave with horns sticking out of his head. His smile however is kind and gentle.

"I'm dreadfully sorry, my dear girl. I didnt mean to scare you like that. My name is Chiron." he says, unconsciously tapping at his chin. He looks troubled.

Chiron. Camp Half Blood's director.

"I was hoping to find perhaps Percy or Jason. You will do, nevertheless. You are?"

"Hazel Levesque," she replies, still recovering from her shock.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Hazel. I presume you come from the Roman camp."

She nods. Chiron continues, "We do not have much time. It would be kind of you to deliver my message to the rest. The Romans are advancing on us. It will take a day or two before the war begins."

"About that," Hazel says. "Reyna, Coach Hedge and my brother are on the way with the Athena Parthenos. We think it will bring peace to both the camps."

"Your brother?"

"Nico Di Angelo"

Chiron looks stupefied. He opens his mouth and then shuts it as if the knows better than to ask. "Where is the ship currently Hazel?"

"Heading to the Aegan Sea and next to Greece."

"It is not too late. You must take a detour. Go to Sparta, to the palace of Leadeamon. My wife, Chariclo reigns there. If you can get in her good books, she might help you defeat Mother Gaea…"

"Your wife?" Hazel's head is buzzing with questions.

For a minute, Chiron almost looks embarrassed. "We have parted ways. But we still keep in touch. She might give you information if she knows you come from me."

Hazel takes it all in. "I'll tell the others…"

"Go in a group of two. My wife can be susceptible to charm But she is also very wise and crafty. Be careful and thank you "

"No, thank you Chiron! "

"May the Gods be with you Hazel Levesque" And the image cracked and broke away in tiny, multicoloured kaleidoscopic pieces.

"Chiron contacted you?" Annabeth asks for the millionth time. All of them are groggy from sleep. She had woken them up right after the message.

"Yeah." She had told them everything. Leo had arranged the route to Sparta and all the rest were discussing the matter at hand.

Percy is trying hard to supress a smile "He had a wife?!"

Annabeth ignores him "OK, we should send out two people to Chariclo as soon as we reach Sparta to the what again?"

"Palace of Leademon" Hazel corrects.

"I think Hazel should go, she got the message and all," Frank suggests

"Thats great!" Percy agrees. "We should send someone charming as the second person."

Hazel fights the urge to yell. The last thing she wanted to do was get help from a female centaur. Percy seems to read her expression "If thats okay with Hazel?"

She tried for a smile. "Yeah, aren't I charming enough?"

"Honestly, I think what we're missing here are the looks," Leo says. "No offense, but I don't think Hazel is capable of wowing Chariclo…You need someone really experienced for that."

"You would like to volunteer to be the second person then?" Jason asks Leo, bemused.

"Indeed."

**"**Fine**, **tag along," Hazel says with superiority. "I hope this is worth my sleep."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter IX: Leo

Life just never gets better.

Here they are, in the middle of the Aegean Sea, waiting to encounter the so-called Charcoal Lady, or whatever she was called.

Honestly, Leo isn't very enthusiastic of meeting her, but he has to keep that impression of being fearless in front of his friends. He wouldn't exactly want to be centaur meat.

Their trip to greece was longer than he expected. Of course, the monsters cut part of their time, but seven days? If they reached Greece within that limited amount of time, Leo's vegetables would turn into cake.

"Leo! How much longer till' we reach Sparta?" Piper calls anxiously.

Leo snaps himself out of his gaze. "Uh... I don't know, probably a few more hours?"

Piper slouches back into her chair. "Hours," she grumbles.

Hazel sighs. "Well, we better get back to sleep, then."

They both get up and make their ways toward their cabins. Leo wishes he can say that for himself, but unfortunately, he was stuck steering the Argo II. He wouldn't get any sleep tonight. However, Leo told himself he was doing it for the crew. He would do anything for the sake of them, and steering the ship was included.

Leo notices Percy is watching him intently. Leo turns. "What?"

Percy puts his hand on Leo's shoulder. "Go."

Leo gives him an awkward look. "Uh, where to, exactly?"

Percy rolls his eyes. "To your cabin, duh."

Leo gapes at him. "Um, Perce, I am the only one here who can steer the ship."

"Who told you I can't steer a ship? Besides, I know where we're headed to."

Leo eyes him suspiciously. "How do I know I can trust you for not crashing the ship?"

Percy sighs exhaustedly. "That's not exactly my problem."

He prys Leo's hands off the wheel. "Get some sleep, fireboy. You deserve it."

Leo finally gives in. "Fine. Let me know when you get tired."

Percy laughs, a weak laugh. "When it comes to sea, I'm never tired."

Leo walks down the hall and dives into his cabin.

Leo lies on his bed, his arms folded across his stomach. He stares at the ceiling, humming the tune of the 'Candy Man'. Leo imagines what it would be like to not be one of the seven, to be a normal, regular mortal teenager. He would have a nice, enjoyable life; fewer monsters, infinite amount of sleep, no problems. But Leo could only dream of that.

His thoughts drift to Calypso. He remembered her big, warm smile, her dark almond eyes glistening with wonder. Her long, curly hair blowing in the wind. Her…

Leo commands himself to snap out of it. Yes, he has to agree, he had fallen in love with the grouchy but beautiful Caribbean girl, and he had very high hopes for seeing her again, but he knew it was impossible.

He had swore to come back for Calypso before he left, before she kissed him, kissed him on the lips. Leo smiles dreamily and begins talking to himself. "I don't know what to tell the others. They all know something's happened. Is it better to keep it a secret or probably tell one of them...? I miss her and I really wish-"

He is interrupted by a laugh. Percy stands at the doorway, his head thrown back in laughter. Leo turns a bright red "How much did you hear?"

"The entire thing"

Leo covers his face with his hands. Percy walks inside. "Buddy, if you've got to say something, say it."

Leo takes a deep breath. "I met Calypso."

Percy's face goes slack."What?"

"When Khione blasted me out in the sky, I landed on her island. And apparently the gods were supposed to free her but they forgot, so she was mad with them and with you. She started crying when I mentioned your name. So she was pissed with me for the first few days, but then she helped me build an escape raft because the main one wasn't working. So a few days before I had finished, the raft appeared and she told me to go. And I swore to release her, I'm not sure if that was the best move. But now I miss her and..." Leo explains his adventure in detail, the island and his oath. He leaves the kiss out, however.

Percy's face is mix of emotions. "Are you in..in love with her?"

Leo isn't sure how to answer this.

" I...I just don't know...but I've never felt like this with any other girl."

Percy takes a lot of time to answer this. Leo feels extremely awkward and adds on. "Now I know I might never see her again and it hurts. Not to add I might die if I can't do it."

Percy closes his eyes. "I never meant to abandon her. And when I requested for her freedom, I seriously thought the gods would do it. "

"She was hurt when you chose to go."

" I know. She even cursed Annabeth."

"What?"

"Long story. Never mind."

"Do you mind if...you know...like um..." Leo stammers.

"Dude," Percy claps his shoulder ." You've finally found a girl!"

"But you can't tell anyone."

**"**Jeez man, can you trust me with one thing?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter X: Reyna

Reyna is starting to detest shadow travelling. After every time, she felt like she wanted to throw up, but noooo, right after that she had to fight a million demons while Coach Hedge munched on some sort of material he found and Nico...

She has mixed feelings about Nico...he is so annoying at times but still so sweet. Reyna likes the mysterious air around him, much like her own . She found him honest yet secretive, brave yet clueless.

She whirls into vision. She is standing in the middle of a road. A loud blaring horn heads towards leaps onto the sidewalk as a car whooshes behind her at high speeds. Reyna lets out a breath.

"Reyna." It is Nico's voice. He, the statue and Coach Hedge are luckily safely on the sidewalk. It is the last word he says before collapsing on the ground. Reyna rushes towards him and cradles him.

"Reyna." Coach Hedge's voice is alarming.

The sight that greets her is not pleasant. Hordes of monsters creep up from all corners. The air suddenly goes silent. They are cornered with no escape.

"Damn that statue!" she cries desperately.

Her mind goes into 'Praetor of the Twelfth Legion' mode as soon as they charge.

She slashes and hacks away like there is no other future for her but what she doesn't realize is that Nico has gotten up and is working on the buttons of the statue. She carves an arc into all the closest demons circling her. A flying monster rips her sleeve but she drives her sword right through it.

Coach Hedge , meanwhile, whacks at the creatures with his club. She turns to face a monster that has come up behind her but she is a little too late and can only stand and watch with surprise just as the weapon slices her hip leaving a bleeding gash there. She falls to the ground just as the comforting gold aura that pours out of the statue surrounds them and all the monsters disappear.

She turns to see Nico sitting proudly but exhausted next to the statue. She scramble to him as fast as she can with the pain in her hip.

"Gods of Olympus! Thank the gods you're ok!" she says.

"I'm ok?!" he half laughs half says disbelievingly staring at her hip.

"Oh! I'm going to be just fine, Nico!" she protests.

They stare at each other for what seem like hours and finally lean forward. Is the wrong place at the wrong time but Reyna can't care less. The statue's aura feels comforting like a burden off their shoulders, with all the monsters gone. That until…

"Yes, yes," says an impatient voice, "We all knew you loved each other but we still have a camp to save!"

And later adds cheerfully, "And more hot dogs to eat!"

To give Nico some time to rest before shadow travelling to New York, they were walking down the streets of Delaware. Now, because she had the time to notice it, the place seemed like a nice place to visit.

It had beautiful gardens and lots of singing birds perched on many trees and a whole lot of inns. There are people everywhere; driving, eating, laughing, walking.. And everybody has a cheerful smile on their face.

Reyna tries to remember the last time she had been cheerfu.l It seemed decades ago. Her mind was wrapped around her quest, and she didn't have any time for an enjoyable life.

Nico grabs her arm, pointing to the large, wide coastal beach, waves splashing every few seconds. It was peaceful and gorgeous. People were lying in the sand, dipping their feet into the water.

Nico smiles. "Come on," he pulls her into the sand.

Her shoes are covered with the wet sand. Nico sighs. "Reyna, you have to take your shoes off." Reyna looks down at her combat boots. She hasn't taken her shoes off since the beginning of the quest. She bends down and shakes her boots off.

It was quite relieving. She wiggles her toes, happy to give her feet some fresh air from being cramped in those boots. She exhales deeply.

Nico takes his shoes off, his jet-black hair glistening under the sun. He jumps into the water, creating a large splash. Reyna glares at him.

He shrugs and grins. "What? Might as well enjoy ourselves."

Then he does something incredulously barbaric. He splashes the water around, completely soaking Reyna with water.

"NICO DI ANGELO!"

He laughs, splashing some more water at her. "Nico, I swear-" Reyna threatens.

One more big splash. Nico laughs hysterically.

It felt good to see him happy, to see a smile across his pale face . Reyna laughs, pushing a wave with her hands toward him. He stops laughing as the wave rolls over him. He stumbles backward, falling on the sand face-first. Reyna laughs again. He gets up, spitting out sand from his mouth.

"Oh, I'll get you for that one."

He is about to take revenge, but an irritated voice interrupts them.

"Guys, as much as you are enjoying this frenzy, we need a place to sleep," Coach Hedge says almost frustratedly.

"And some dry clothes," Reyna splutters.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter XI: Frank

Frank is feeling useless.

Nearly all the seven except him has been outside the ship or are going to. All he gets to do is take guard. He could have defeated the kobaloi. He could have accompanied Hazel to Chariclo. But he didn't.

He feels like a coward. Being the Praetor of the Twelfth Legion doesn't really boost his self esteem. For the first few days , he was so excited. Now, it feels like another burden. Not to mention, even Hazel has grown distant.

Frank walks out on deck. Leo surprisingly isn't at the helm. Standing at his pace is Percy. His face is strained and wistful. Frank walks up to him and rests his hand of Percy's shoulder.

" Hey man," Percy greets him.

"You okay there?" Frank says. "Where's Leo? The way I figured it out was he would rather pour Greek fire in the ship before he gave his place up."

" ...Yeah, I thought so too but I figured the guy needed some rest so...here I am! Anyways, the water calms my nerves."

"Very funny!" Leo's voice pops out of nowhere. "Am I really that bad?"

"Nah...but maybe just a bit possessive,"Percy says.

"Of course, you're that bad!" Frank counters with a mock disbelief expression on his face.

"Take it easy on him," Jason walks out, "What would we do without our repair boy?"

"Your girlfriend is influencing you a teeny tiny bit too much, Superman." Leo replies.

"What?" Jason says "You wait till I tell Pipes!"

"I dont know about you, Leo but I wouldn't dare!" Frank says.

This is by far, is one of the best dinners they had had. Hazel looks stressed out , her eyebrows crinkling together. Leo, Jason and Piper are in deep conversation. Percy gobbles up his pizza while Annabeth looks down at the table. Annabeth opens her mouth to say something but the ship rumbles to a stop.

"Not again," Frank mutters irritably.

Another big, low, rumble shakes the ship uncontrollably. Piper gets up at once, her hand flying to her knife. She looks around alarmed. "I'll go take a look."

Jason stands up. "I'll come with you," he nods at Piper.

They slip out out of the hall. Everyone stays silent for a few seconds, until-

The ship gives one big shudder, and tilts sideways. A high-pitched scream, unmistakenly Piper's, fills the hall. Everyone gets up immediately and they pour out the hall, waiting for the next monster they'd have to face.

Frank stumbles out of his seat and rushes out on deck. The ships turns sideways, completely. Frank slips and falls down the side , heading face first towards the sea. He grabs the rail and hangs on for his dear life. He wants to yell at the others to stay down down but no voice come out.

He spots Jason up in the air, his expression near to horrified. "They're going to turn the ship over! " he yells.

Who?

Jason's reply is lost in the wind. Leo climbs up and runs over to his control board. He pulls out his Wii controller and slowly lifts the ship into the air. Frank closes his eyes , but he can still feel the ship being righted into its normal position.

The rest climb out . Most of them are fine but Hazel's face is green. She runs over to the sides and throws up over the edge. After wiping her mouth, she asks, "Who were those?"

Jason replies, "I'm not sure. They looked really odd, but they were in herds and they were trying to tilt the ship over."

Annabeth peers over the ship. "I think they're Panes"

Percy looks dumbfounded. "Pants?"

Frank stands next to Annabeth. Leo veers the ship slightly closer , so they all can take a clear look. They looks like normal men up to their torsos, but had goat legs, tails and horns.

Annabeth sighs. "Panes. They're nature spirits, Followers of Pan."

"Aren't nature spirits supposed to be good?" Percy asks.

"Is there anyone who's supposed to be good anymore?"

"Good point."

Annabeth turns back to her point. "Anyways, they don't look as harmful, but you know what Chiron always said-"

"Never underestimate the power of monsters," Leo completes for her, grinning.

"If they decide to attack the ship again, we'll fight them. If they don't, we'll leave them alone," Piper analyzes.

"Besides, we're almost at Sparta. We'll reach there in less than an hour," Percy adds. "They'll probably leave by then."

"When Leo and I set off for Chariclo, the rest of you guys are going to rest. None of you have had more than a wink of sleep," Hazel says firmly, mainly on Annabeth, who was the only one to hadn't rested since they had set out for Sparta.

Annabeth sighs. "Fine, then. But some of us will have to guard the ship."

Frank watches Hazel, her golden eyes deep in thought, analyzing every fact before she says it. Her hair is blowing on her face, and she has to push it away every few seconds. She is biting her lip nervously, probably scared about going to Sparta with Leo without him getting themselves killed.

Frank can't blame her.

As much as he had improved his trust for Leo, he is still uneasy around him. He doesn't take things seriously, and has a bad habit of joking around when its really unnecessary. It can be annoying quite often.

"Okay, I think I can fly us till Sparta and avoid the Panes but there's no telling in what they'll do. Me and Hazel leave for Sparta while Percy takes care of the ship for a while. The rest of you sleep or guard. If the Panes attack, you can show them who's boss!" Leo exclaims.

"We got that," Frank mutters under his breath.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter XII: Annabeth

Annabeth is trying to sleep in her cabin.

They had landed at Sparta. Hazel and Leo had got off while Percy and Jason were guarding. Annabeth can't catch a wink of sleep. Or maybe she is just afraid to. The last few days had been a nightmare. After Tartarus, she thought nothing could be worse.

She was wrong. First the telkhines, then Euryale and now the Panes. She had tried to convince the others that they were harmless but she knew that with so many in number, the Panes would easily overtake them.

She rests her head on the bed and stares up at the ceiling. Thats when the trouble begins.

The warning bell rings loud and clear. Annabeth leaps out of bed. She cautiously creeps around the corner of the lower floor of the Argo II when she hears rustling behind her. She brings her sword down to level with Piper's face. Piper lets out a gasp.

"I'm so sorry!" Annabeth exclaims. "I thought it was a monster!"

"Chill, its okay," Piper replies. "Speaking of monsters, we should check on the others."

Annabeth can't agree more. They both turn around and sprint in the direction they had just came from.

Annabeth wishes she didn't come upstairs. The Panes have somehow made it up onto the ship. Percy, Jason and Frank stand back to back in the middle, trapped by the Panes.

The minute she walks on deck, they turn their attention to her. There are too many to count. Annabeth considers fainting on the spot and then shakes her head defiantly. She expertly wields her sword in hand and turns to face the Panes.

After that is chaos. She lifts her sword and slashes right through a Pane. It provides a boost of energy in Annabeth. The others take on the rest. One of the creatures charged at Annabeth. She sidesteps easily and stabs it in its chest.

Frank appears beside her. He parries a strike and slams it with his shield. Frank presses forward and falls to the ground. Annabeth rushes to his side. "Frank?"

"I'm fine!" he breathes out. "Keep going!"

Annabeth blocks the next blade. She rolls to the side and brings her sword down. Another one jabs at her stomach. She locks its hilt in hers and twists it. Her opponent's sword falls to the ground. Annabeth drives her blade straight through.

Percy had taken care of most of the Panes. That was so comforting about him. You could always trust him to be a whirlpool. Right now, he charges against a Pane and defends its strike. He slammed its head with the butt of his sword and it fell backwards. Percy didnt wait to slash Riptide straight through it.

Meanwhile Jason has struck his blade into two of the Panes at once. His eyes are wide and hair is ruffled. Beside him, stands Piper. She is in the monster's grasp. Piper whips her knife Katropis upwards which cuts the Pane's shoulder.

On Annabeth's other side is Frank. His face is defiant. He slices his way through a couple of Panes and vaporises any who come close to him. Annabeth regrets thinking that he would not have been able to hold off the telkhines. When she next looks around her, there were only the five of them left. She is so glad to have such a reliable crew.

Frank walks over to the edge of the ship and speaks in a loud voice. Probably practicing for Praetor. "We just killed every single Pane you sent aboard. Surrender or face the same fate!".

It takes them a while to understand that there was nobody left at the receiving end.

Annabeth seems to end up in the same place she was before the battle begun. At her cabin. Trying to sleep. Annabeth shuts her eyes and forces them to close. An invisible force gives way to her world of dream and then she begins to fall straight into it.

A tall, robed figure's form makes its way through Annabeth's vision. As her form becomes clearer, Annabeth's eyes widen, realizing who it is.

"Mother!"

The goddess releases the hood from her head, revealing her long brown hair in a silver plait down her back. Her face is stern, her forehead creased, her eyebrows furrowed together. Her gray eyes burn into Annabeth's own.

"D-Does this mean Nico and Reyna have brought your statue back to Camp Half-blood?" Annabeth asks.

Athena shakes her head. "No, child," she says, in her soothing, soft voice. "Though they are very close. I am beginning to regain my strength, but not completely so."

After a few seconds, Athena smiles. Her form flickers. "Annabeth, I am so proud of you," she says, and her image flickers again. "Stay strong, and you and your friends will succeed."

Her aura fades, and she vanishes.

Annabeth blinks her eyes open.

She had just seen her mother, after so many months, She had seen her mother's face.

Athena said Nico and Reyna were close. They had made their way across the giant ocean. They were safe.

The thought relaxes Annabeth a little. At least something had gone right.

She sighs and puts her head back onto the pillow. After all the war, after everything was over, Annabeth could have a normal life. She would settle somewhere in New York with Percy, and have a nice, peaceful life.

She smiles to herself and wills herself back to sleep.

The end was definitely a new beginning.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter XIII: Hazel

Hazel appreciated the silence.

She and Leo had left the Argo II for a suicide mission. To get help from Chiron's wife. Ex-wife. It didn't make any sense. Wasn't Chariclo supposed to hate Chiron then? The crew were convinced that Chariclo might help them because they knew Chiron. To Hazel, it sounded like a very absurd idea. On the other hand, myths about Chiron said that he was immortal, and really wise. He apparently had been training heroes for years. He had to know what he was talking about.

Hazel had always imagined Sparta as some sort of fairy castle. Golden blocks, silver dust. She had always wanted to see Sparta. Now as she walked along the thorny brambles, she took it back. She had scraped her left knee and a thorn had gone right through her index finger of her right palm. Leo made no attempt to engage in conversation. He was lost in his own world. Neither of them knew where the Palace of Leademon was. Annabeth had described it in detail for them.. A huge and beautiful white castle that stretched out for 1,300 ft.

Leo grabbed her shoulder, jerking back her conscience back to the present.

He pointed right in front of them. It fit Annabeth's description perfectly except there was nothing beautiful about it. The castle was covered in moss and gravel. Vines grew around the pillar of the palace. Standing right in front of it, was a centaur. Her head was raised and she seemed to be addressing one of her courtiers. To the left, were masses, literally masses of centaurs. They all were positioned in lines , kneeling down.

She felt Leo take a breath beside her. "I'm betting the centaur there is Chariclo. Chiron said something about her reign. All those centaurs must be kneeling down to her. She's like a queen." Hazel says.

"She doesn't look the least bit female," Leo contradicts.

Hazel shoots him a glare. "What?! I was considering all possibilities. There could be a king."

"I doubt it." she replies, "I'm going to walk in."

"Go ahead. They'll kill you where you stand. "

"Then what do I do?" she asks.

"You could try putting your hands up."

"Can you please be a bit helpful?" Leo lapsed into silence. Hazel rolled her eyes and then, slowly and carefully, crept out of the bushes into the direct vision of the court. "Hi," she says nervously.

That was a mistake. The minute she stepped out, the centaurs imprisoned her and Leo and brought them in front of the lead centaur.

"I brought the prisoners. Found 'em lurking behind the bushes. God knows what mischief they were up to." Hazel's captor says with an Irish accent.

"Thank you Duncan," the centaur's voice was clear and melodic.

"Yes ma'am," he replies and walks away.

"Dumbcan?" Leo snickers. Hazel kicks him. "Chariclo?"

She tries for a more formal start. "And what would young demigods like you want with me?" Hazel refuses to be thrown aback. She tells Chariclo the story from the start. She explains the quest and Gaea and then tells her about Chiron. Hazel think she saw Chariclo's grim face waver but its gone in a second. At the end, Chariclo's face is set in a hard, cruel line.

"Did Chiron really think there was a chance that I would help you?" At Hazel's nod, she continued. "Do you know how he abandoned in the gallows on his journey to success? How he tore me apart? How hard its been to move on?"

"Only insufferable weaklings like you would fail in doing that. We've all lost people we love and we've all learned to move on. What makes you so special?" Leo spits out. His voice is raw with pain. Hazel kicks him again. She locks his eyes in hers and mouths "Are you trying to get us killed?" He looks away and doesn't say anything.

Chariclo is fuming with anger. "There's no chance I will help you. You are a talented little demigod and I might have helped you if you weren't connected to him." Chariclo manages to add enough venom to that one word to poison an elephant. "I'm sorry" "You can tell Chiron of my hate for him perhaps, fifty years later"Chariclo says "And you can prepare that speech in your cell!" All her courtiers break out into unpleasant laughter.

"Please" Hazel pleads "We have to defeat Gaea or else she'll destroy the world! Please…"

"I was once like you. A noble, brave, intelligent and pretty girl. Fighting her way through this wretched Earth. I wish you luck in finding some good for I have found none"

"You're nothing like me." Hazel finds all her anger "We both had good and evil cast into our lives. The difference is I chose to look for the good and you refused to. You are nothing like me." she repeats.

That was it. Chariclo screams and then breaks down. A centaur runs towards her while another approaches to drag both of them to their cells. Hazel can't even fight back. Her world is swimming around. her temple hurts. Finally she lets herself fall unconscious.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter XIV: Piper

Piper finally receives some shut-eye.

The fight with the Panes had been frustrating; at first Piper had thought they were outnumbered by the little nature- freak midgets, there were at least three dozen of Panes and only five of them. Fortunately, they had managed.

Piper had to be impressed. The crew had survived this far- she had no doubt they'd reach Greece and defeat Gaea and her horde of monsters and come back alive in no time. Yeah, sure. In a million years. That sort of victory wouldn't even happen in her wildest dreams. It sounds easier than it looks.

It had been hours since they had sent Hazel and Leo into Sparta. It sort of felt like sending her friends to a horror story in which they would never come back, but she knew Hazel would be able to handle it. Hopefully.

She sits up on her bed. She pulls up Katropris and peers into it. "Show me something good."

An image flickers before her eyes in the blade. She sees Hazel lying down on the ground , her head bruised. She is clearly unconscious. A centaur towers above her. Piper isn't sure, but she could make out iron bars. The image freezes and tears away. "NO!" she yells.

The image dissolves. Piper sees Jason, now, driving a car. The car speeds along at high speeds. Piper can not see anyone else in the car. Suddenly, the car tilts and crashes. It began to burn and all she could she was flames..

Piper joins the rest after stamping Katropris several times and then dumping it into the dustbin. She is glaring at the wall opposite to her. Everyone's expression is worried and tensed. Percy is tapping restlessly on the table. Frank looks ready for an invasion.

"Why haven't they come back yet?" Frank inquires.

Annabeth looks at Frank with pity. Its clear that they all know Hazel and Leo are in trouble. Piper doesn't even feel surprised. Its almost like she expected it.

Piper cuts off before Annabeth can reply. "I saw a vision in Katropris" she says, loud and clear. "I saw Hazel on the ground, most likely off her senses. And I saw a centaur kneeling before her."

"They're in trouble!" Frank assumes. "I'm going after her."

"Um...Frank, I'm pretty sure we all appreciate the whole 'knight racing after his beloved' attitude," Percy says. "But we have to be careful."

Annabeth agrees. "He's right. Lets plan this one by one."

Frank looked like he wants to argue but he closes his mouth. Meanwhile, Jason sits quietly in one corner, unobserved, staring intently at Piper.

Annabeth turns to Piper and asks her. "Did you see anything else?"

" Um..." Piper thinks of flames dying away on Katropris. She can't bring herself to meet Annabeth's eyes and shakes her head "No, that was all."

"OK." Annabeth's voice is tentative. "Next, we'll send group of three to rescue Hazel and Leo."

Frank immediately volunteers "Me!"

"Me too," Jason says.

Piper feels her stomach take a huge jump. "I'm going as well."

If Jason was going, then so was she. She wouldn't let Jason even come close to a car. She had often heard it was dangerous to mess with fate but she wasn't going to let Jason die on her watch.

That leaves me and Percy to take care of the ship," Annabeth says.

Percy nods. "Be careful, and stay out of trouble's path."

Jason grins. "You're starting to sound like Annabeth, man."

Percy jumps. "What?" He clutches at his hair.

Jason laughs. Annabeth shoots Percy a glare.

He grins innocently. Percy gives Jason a high five.

"Now that we've sorted everything out," Frank says. "We'd better get going."

* * *

It doesn't begin too well. Both Jason and Frank begin to argue on whether The Palace of Leademon would be on the civilian side or in the forests.

"Forests" Frank says, "Don't you think someone would have noticed a huge castle out on the pavement?"

"Mist," Jason reminds him. "You really think centaurs would have an army in those stuffy forests? Besides Chiron hates grass and wood and all those nature stuff."

"He might be exceptional." Frank continues to argue "And you cant judge a book by its cover. Maybe its really beautiful inside. Annabeth said the castle was really impressive"

Piper rolls her eyes. "Boys," she mutters.

Both of them glare at her. "Look, make up your mind. Forest or city?" Piper sighs irritably.

After a long consideration Frank finally says, "City."

Jason gives a superior smile. "Great. Next question, how do we go about? We cant really walk around this whole place."

Piper knows what is coming. "Subway," she quickly suggests.

"Umm...Piper, this is exactly London anymore. I doubt Sparta's got a Subway system. And if they did, its completely underground." Frank says kindly.

"Sorry, I wasnt thinking," she replies, embarrassed."Bus?"

Jason looks uncertain. "That could take lots of time and it might not stop where we want to go. Maybe I could steal a car and drive us around."

"No!" Piper exclaims

"Why not? Frank asks "I thought that was a great idea"

"No..no" she stammers "I..uh, I have motion sickness!"

Jason thinks. "Try doing what Hazel does. Look out at the horizon for a while". When he sees her uncomfortable face he says "Please try Pipes. For Leo and Hazel"

I'm doing this for you, she thinks. Outside, she nods.

Jason looks at her skeptically. Frank breaks into a big grin. "We're coming, oh yeah!"

Frank walks ahead. Jason stops Piper with his hand. "Are you ok?" Piper tries for a smile. It doesn't come. Jason continues."Look, whatever happened back there wasn't motion sickness. What's going on?"

"I'm fine Jason, seriously," she says and then briskly speedens her pace to catch up with Frank.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter XV : Nico

For the first time in forever, Nico is feeling relaxed.

They are ready to take their final jump to New York, but at the last moment, Reyna had pleaded with Nico to stop on the way. She probably wanted a couple of hours more of freedom before they jumped into battle again, and Nico cant help but agree.

Nico doesn't know what to think about Reyna. Sure, shes cute, she's smart, and brave and strong for a girl. He just isn't ready to confess after what happened with Percy.

Percy. Everytime he came to think about him, a mixed feeling of hatred and fondness comes with it. He hates himself for it, how he had told Jason, how he had revealed his deepest and darkest secret. He only hopes he can trust the blonde guy.

"Nico?"

Nico turns around to find Reyna standing only a few feet away from him, her eyes wide with concern, her hair plaited into a single braid on her shoulder. She looked startlingly beautiful.

"Hey," Nico says, awestruck. "You guys ready?"

She nods. "You have any idea where you're stopping yet?"

Nico shrugs. "Ive been thinking about New Jersey, and we stay there for two or three hours and then leave for Long Island. If that's okay with Coach Hedge and you, of course."

"Its better than OK," Reyna beams. "Thank you Nico."

He grins. "No problem."

They stand silent for so long, it feels like hours. Finally, Nico breaks the silence.

"Where's Coach?"

Reyna looks up. "Oh, he's up by the beach trying to get a tan. As much as a tan a satyr can get, that is."

Nico smiles, taking a few steps towards her.

"You know, if the battle has already begun between the camps, we might have to fight each other," Nico comments quietly.

Reyna's cheeks suddenly seem to lose their color. She looks at him, her very dark black eyes dissolving into Nico's wild brown ones.

And then something Nico has never expected before happens.

Her eyes well up with tears. Nico steps closer to her and pulls her to his chest, his arms wrapping around her. She sobs into his shoulder.

Nico has never in a million years expected Reyna to break down. Her bold exterior, her strong and confident outside, completely covered her soft, sensitive, emotional inside. Never had Nico seen Reyna to shed even a tear, and now here she is, in his arms, crying her heart out.

He stays there for a couple minutes, her arms wound tightly around his shoulders, and he kisses her head reluctantly.

"Sorry," he mumbles. He was nervous that he had caused her to break down like this.

Reyna pulls back, sniffing. "No, No. Its been so hard. Singularly carrying the camp's weight on my shoulders. I've watched it grow, watched it win. I can't see it destroyed. As much as I want peace, its my home. I would go to all ends to protect it. I'm sorry, Nico. If my legion has placed anyone at risk. I will try my best to stop war but I cannot confirm it.

Nico looks at her, and as he does, he realizes that she looks scared. Reyna, the brave praetor of the twelfth legion, scared.

"Will you please try with me?" She asks "I'm afraid of what they will do. Will we get there? Can we stop war? Can we return the statue and reach Olympus in time? Will we win the war against Gaia? And after that, what will happen? I might be exiled from camp."

Nico finds himself asking the same questions she did. He comforts her "Everything's going to be fine. We will get through."

"Promise?" She whispers

He nods. "I swear it on the River Styx."

She gives a slight smile and releases him, and together they walk towards the beach, to find Coach, to make sure he doesn't burn his buttocks off.

* * *

Coach Hedge walks ahead of the rest waving his club around, once smacking Reyna in the face. Reyna looks dangerous. Her black hair flies around her head. Her eyes are glistening and her chin is set. There is no sign of tears anymore.

Nico feels a bit weak. He wants his full energy to take them to New Jersey. He didn't admit but it would be extremely tiring to travel all the way there. And it would be even harder to know when to stop.

He hears an unmistakable rustle come from behind him. He abruptly steps walking and whirls around. A hand flaps on his mouth and he is hit unconscious from behind his head.

The next time he wakes is for five minutes. He can't help but close his eyes even though his mind is persisting against it. All he can think about as he sinks into his inside world is Reyna...

The next time he tries to wake is more successful. He rests on his elbows and tries to lift himself up to get a view of the surrounding. He winces in pain. His shows are grazed and there a nasty slash on his shoulder. Nevertheless he gets up. He is concealed behind a boulder, from the other other side looked monstrous. Reyna is battling two demigods. Coach Hedge whacked at large crabs that crawl around. Nico shudders. "Karkinos" he mutters.

Nico puts in all his effort to climb over the boulder. Meanwhile, he keeps part of his attention to the battle scene. Reyna seems to have been overpowered and handcuffed. Her dagger lies on the ground. Coach Hedge is cornered and is surrendering.

"Where's the Angelo boy?" The older one asks. "Gaia needs one girl and one boy. I swear I knocked him unconscious it the next minute he had disappeared. No tracks, nothing! There's something mysterious going on."

Reyna holds her head high. "Why would I tell you?"

The younger one growled. "So be it. We will get another one. You will never get the statue back to the camp. Blood will be splattered. Gaia will reign!"

Nico hadn't noticed that Reyna had removed her handcuffs. She was buying time. But by her expression, it was clear she had no idea where Nico was.

Then Hades broke loose. Reyna took action. She brought her foot down on the younger one who clutched his foot in surprise. Reyna turned on the other one and punched him.

Reyna runs to her dagger and picks it up. She deflects the blow by the older one. He tries to jab at her but she anticipates the move and blocks, flinging his sword away. Reyna has him at neckpoint. Coach Hedge started to whack again. Some power boosted through him and he slams each Karkinos to the ground, making all their inside come outside. Nico gags.

Nico emerges from the shadows. He distracts the other boy who was making his way across to Reyna. He battles with him for while. The demigod is good and Nico's skills had become rusty. Nico lashes out at him and gets a strike at his hip. The demigod crumples to the ground.

"What's with Gaia?" Nico asks, bending over the fallen boy.

"Six days. One girl, one boy." he croaks. "The end of the world," His eyes roll upwards and his face goes slack. Nico feels for his heart and even then, he knew the boy was dead.

"Jonathan!" the other boy cries out.

"Shut up," Reyna says, pressing the dagger, closer to his throat. "What's your name?"

"James."

"We'll let you live if you co-operate with us." Nico offers.

"Co-operate with the murderer of my brother?" James asks, sarcastically.

"I didnt mean to do that," Nico sighs. "Look, you're on the wrong side. You think Gaia's going to be grateful? That she'll reward you? She is using you. Like tools for her experiments."

"I'm all ears... What's your offer?"

"How many other demigods like you are there?"

"Twenty, thirty. But there probably thrice that many monsters out there...more than that..."

"Convince everyone you can to join our side. Tell them that Gaia is only using them.. Gather as many volunteers as you can and head for Greece. We're relying on you. Please help us save the world. You'll be fighting the battle in our lines now. I won't give you any empty promises like Gaia but I will tell you that this won't be for nothing. I swear it on the River Styx."

James' intriguing eyes burn into Nico's black obsidians.

"Deal," was all he says in response.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter XVI: Leo

Leo doesn't have much to contend with in his cell.

Night has passed and Leo can't get a wink of sleep. Hazel lay unconscious until she began to stir at sunrise. Since then, all she could do was curse Chariclo.

"I'll murder her!" She is yelling."Stupid centaur! That…."

"Language," he mutters.

"What are we going to do? We're stuck in a cell and there's no getting out!" She says, frustrated.

"Let's calm down and think a bit." He says.

"What a brainstorm! Oh, I've just been sitting and sulking and not thinking of a way to escape," she replies sarcastically.

"Thank you!" Leo tries to sound cheerful because he knew it would annoy her. Hazel glares at him and for the hundredth time, it seems, she stalks off to one corner and sits down. After an hour of silence, a guard walks in with their greasy lunch.

"Not again," Leo mutters under his breath. The guard walks into Leo's cell first. She looks almost worried. Leo gets up to receive the packed lunch.

"Ok pets, eat...eat and die!" As she turns to leave the cell, Leo makes a dash for an imprint of the master key. He takes the imprint on a small piece of celestial bronze that he had pulled out of his tool belt. When the guard leaves the cell, Leo quickly crafts it properly and inserts it into the lock. The door swings open soundlessly. Hazel stares at him open mouthed. He rushes to her cell and unlocks the door.

Together they both make a dash for it. Getting out of the dungeon was hard. There were twists and turns everywhere. Thankfully , Leo had been conscious while being dragged out of the court. He guided both of them through the cells, past the guards and finally to the main gate.

There was a buff centaur guard , standing at the exit. His expression was amused. "Oh boy, you both got spunk. No one's ever tried escaping."

Hazel doesn't even try to reply. She plants a kick right at his head. It comes to him as a surprise and he fell backwards. Hazel jumps across him and leaves Leo no choice but to follow her. He walks faster to catch up with Hazel, still lost in his thoughts. Leo bangs against Hazel , realizing that she had stopped abruptly. He peered over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. The centaurs were havoc. They were running all over the place with weapons.

"They're preparing for battle," Hazel murmurs.

"Against whom?" Leo asks "The rest of the seven? Knowing them, they would have already sent rescue forces."

The centaurs form a circle with Chariclo in between, who holds a gun poised at 45 degrees. The opponents come into vision. Forty men wearing rags and holding clubs charge inside. The most unnerving thing about them was their one eye. "We ask for your prisoners. Mother Gaia needs them for her sacrifice. You have a choice. Peacefully hand them over or face war." The leader says.

Chariclo gulps. "I will not be blackmailed. They are my prisoners."

"Charge!" The leader growls.

According to Leo, Hazel and him are cowards. To hide behind the rocks while two armies tore each other apart. At the same time he didn't exactly want to walk out there.

"Dont you think we should stop the fight? I mean this can get serious," Hazel questions.

"What? And say 'My friends, enemies, evildoers, please let us cease this fight. You both can have half of us each if you swear to cease this utterly terrifying ..." Leo dramatizes. "Um..can you think of a synonym of war that sounds long and smart?"

Hazel ,as usual, ignored him. She keeps on muttering, "Arimpasi"

"Have you memorized the entire Greek mythology?" Leo asks.

"No. Only upto K" She replies.

"Thats not funny." He says.

"That's why no one's laughing."

The battle isn't looking good. The centaurs are scattered. A couple of them are lying dead. The Arimpasi are fierce. They ripped apart the centaurs like play dolls. Chariclo kept on firing at the Arimpasi. Another centaur, whom Leo recognized as Dumbcan , had sliced an Arimpasi through his waist. However, it wasn't enough. One of the few remaining Arimpasi cut his way through to Chariclo. Her gun was stuck. A centaur rushed to block his mistress. The centaur deflected the strike and parried it. The Arimpasi stabs the centaur straight through its chest, making it dissolve into ashes 's eyes are wide with fear as the Arimpasi saunters forward, a long blade in his hand, raised to strike.

Hazel nudges Leo in the shoulder. "I think I've got an idea."

Leo quirks an eyebrow. "It better be a good one, Levesque."

She nods. "Just follow my lead." Hazel jumps up. "Hey, you one-eyed freak!" She shouts , waving her hands around. "Try to come and get me!" The creature looks up from Chariclo, locking his gaze with Hazel's. "Yeah, you!" She repeats. He narrows his eyes, brandishing his knife in his hand.

"Get to Chariclo while I try to kill this dude," Hazel hisses to Leo.

"That's your brilliant plan? To commit suicide while dancing like a chicken? For someone who nearly killed us?"

She ignores him. "Listen, do you want to get out of here or not? It's one way or another." Without giving him a chance to answer, she runs at the Arimpasi, her sword raised.

Leo sighs and hurries to Chariclo. "You're gonna pay for this, " he mumbles to the centaur. He grabs her hand, or hoof, and pulls her up.

"Thank you, child," she says, nodding gratefully at Leo.

"Where is your little friend?"

Leo glares at her.

"Trying to kill that mental dude."

"Young language," she mutters. "I suppose I'll have to help her, won't I?"

"Don't think so," he says through gritted teeth. "He's already half-dead." He glances at Hazel battling the monster, her hair all over face, her expression full of determination as she slices its arm off. She dodges its strike and drives her hand into its eye. Her spatha leaves a large gash on its bruised back. It howls in pain as she gives one last stab at the chest, and it disintegrates. Hazel kicks the remaining pieces of its armor while the rest of the Arimpasi step back in fright One of them howl and rushes back into the woods. The others follow it.

Hazel grins at Leo. Her face hardens as she turns her face to Chariclo.

Chariclo sighs "Ok, you have my gratitude. I'll do whatever you want."

"I thought so. Well, we need your centaurs to fight against Gaia. We need armoury, weapons, Greek fire, transportation and food and water." "That's it?" Chariclo asks, sarcastically

"Yeah, tha-" Hazel's words are cut by a huge explosion. Leo squints his eyes. He sees a big fire and smoke billowing out from somewhere further from the forests. The whole place smells of barbequed flesh.

"That looks bad. We should take a look."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter XVII : Jason

Jason hates being left out of things.

Here he is trying to figure out exactly what is wrong with Piper. Motion sickness? Piper had never said anything like that. On one hand, Jason was pretty sure motion sickness was not the reason behind her fear of cars. On the other hand, he didn't think Piper had any reason to lie to him. He creases his eyebrows in confusion, gawking at Piper and Frank who were at least five feet ahead of him.

They reached Audi Car Rental at midday. Piper walks ahead to the staff. "Hi, my friends and I would like to borrow this car." She pats the car next to her. "No license, no experience and no charges. Would that be a problem?"

The staff opens her mouth and wrinkles her nose. "No..uh, thats not a problem." The assist looks like she is having a hard time to speak. Jason really likes Piper's charmspeak. He wishes he could use it over a couple of annoying people he knew.

"Great," Piper smiles."We should get moving."

Jason makes a mental not to never let Piper choose a car design. Her charmspeak enables her to the most expensive types of cars. Jason wonders what on Earth could be the reason behind this while all of them stare at their drab, dirty and boring truck.

"Really?" Frank's voice is disappointed.

Piper gives an exasperated sigh. "Maybe, I dont want to ruin another expensive item." Jason knows she had a point. Most of the things they used ended up in shatters.

Jason gets inside the car. He places his hands on the steering wheel, his leg on the pedal. Instead moving forward, the car let out a puff of gas. Jason curses."Stupid gas pedal," He tries another one and successfully takes them out on the road.

Driving is feels alien to him. He veers left and right. He is a little unstable and no doubt looks like drunken driver. However, Jason is rather good at curves and roundabouts. Frank dozes off but Piper keeps her eyes peeled. Jason fights the urge to yawn. The sunny air and the warm breeze makes him a bit dizzy.

Jason hears a beeping sound. The car was low on petrol. Jason calculates and assumes that the little petrol left would be a sufficient amount to last them. The car starts to make funny noises. The car jerks to a stop.

"Oh god," Jason rushes over and fixes the engine. The car begins to move slowly and then speedens up, leaving Jason behind. Jason makes a face and sprints after it. If it hadn't been for Piper, Jason might have never reached the car. It moved at unbelievably high speeds. Piper had reached over and pulled down on the brakes.

Jason accepts her hand and climbs over to his seat. He has absolutely no control over the speed. Jason can feel the wind tearing his face. Frank wakes up, pretty quickly. He grasps the car handle for comfort. He glances around furtatively while Piper gives a cheer.

"I think I saw them! In the forests!" Frank yells, pointing desperately at the trees.

Jason jerks behind the wheel with such sudden force, he literally falls out the car door.

"Jason!' Piper yells over the loud roar of the engine. "Keep right, keep right!"

He turns the truck to the right. "Damn this cursed truck!" He says through gritted teeth as it gives a tiny tilt. Piper reaches over and steadies the vehicle hastily. She squeezes the wheel, clearly frustrated. Jason tries to stop but in all the confusion, his hands can't find the brakes.

"Stop the car!" Frank yells "They're being attacked!"

"Jason, watch out!" Piper yells. A huge truck is heading their way. The road was narrow and there was a 99.99% chance they would barricade into the truck unless they stopped.

Jason pulled violently on the brake pedal. It was jammed.

"Jason, stop the freaking car!" Frank shakes the door so hard that it nearly rattled.

"OK! SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" Jason screams , followed by a series of curses.

"Its only me and Piper. " Frank says.

"Now is not the time to crack jokes. What's wrong?" Piper snaps.

Jason explains the how the brake pedal had got jammed. "We've got barely two minutes. Piper, jump out of the window with Frank. I'll deal with this ."

"NO! You're mad if you think I'm going to do that," Piper argues.

"Please."

With an exasperated sigh, she climbs out through the sunroof, followed by Frank. Piper pokes her head in, tears in her eyes. "I love you."

Jason doesn't even have the chance to reply. He concentrates on the vehicle rushing at him. Closer , closer, closer. Jason bangs his hand on the brake frustratedly.

Nothing happens. He's going to die.

He prays to Jupiter. At the last minute, the car veers sideways, escaping the diabolical situation. Jason is so caught up in joy, he doesn't realize he's heading straight into a streetlight. Jason, horrified and dazed, can only watch as he hits the streetlight with full impact.

The car takes a somersault and Jason is thrown aback. The car is burning. Flames are everywhere. And the last words the girl he would sacrifice the world for said to him are the only words running through his head. I love you, I love you…

I love you more, he thought to Piper.

No. He isn't going to leave Piper. She isn't going to leave him. Ever. Nothing can separate them. Especially not an insane bewitched car.

He pulls himself up, his face badly bruised and his arm bent in an odd angle. The truck had crashed straight into the streetlight, it was in pieces now. The flames of the gas had burned the stained metal, along with half of Jason's hair. His arm is sore and unable to move; it is probably broken by the looks of it.

Jason hears a shriek coming from Piper, who staggers toward him, her knife bloody, hopefully not her own. Her hands are scraped and her shoulder is bleeding.

"Piper," he croaks as she stumbles into his arms. He embraces her for a few seconds.

She smells sweet. Like soap and vanilla. Smells better than anything in the world.

He releases her, and searches her face. "You're not hurt, are you?"

She shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. We have to fix you up first."

Jason opens his mouth to protest, but Piper presses her finger to his lips, shushing him. "Look at yourself Jason. You're a mess! You're the worst driver I've ever seen."

"I never claimed otherwise"

"By the gods, Jason!"

She embraced him closely. He closes the space between them, one hand around her waist and the other entangled in her hair. They kiss for about two seconds until Jason breaks away.

"What about Hazel and Leo? Are they safe? And Frank?"

"They're fine. They heard the explosion and made their way here safely. They have a lot to tell but you should take it slowly."

"And the car?"

"In tatters," A smiles forms on her flawless face.

Her eyes meet his. Jason never figured her eye color. They are a mix of blue, brown and green; changing between each color like a kaleidoscope, when he actually looks into her eyes, he feels like he is melting, dissolving into them himself.

Leo's voice calls from above the mess. "Is he okay, Pipes?" He bends down and peeks in "Oh lord, I should've known. Can't find a slightly more romantic place than kissing under a wreckage?"

Frank grins. "You guys can continue with your cozy gathering a little later, man. We've got a ship to get back to to make sure Percy and Annabeth are all right."

"What he said," Leo mutters.

Piper gets up and dusts her jeans. She helps Jason to his feet and they both scramble their way out. Leo exclaims "There they are! Slow clap for Jasper," He puts his hands together and claps slowly.

Hazel gives them all a questioning look. "Who's Jasper?"

Frank smiles "A ship name for those two"

"That totally cleared my doubt. What the hell is a ship name?"


End file.
